February may be the month of romance as star crossed lovers celebrate their devotion to one another on the 14th, however, we think every house should be a home filled with love every day of the year. You can create the perfect romantic space with the versatility of soft window treatments. Luxurious fabrics can filter light while adding a timeless appeal and a dreamy ambiance to any home. Hirshfield’s hundreds of fabric selections offer an array of warm yet modern styles creating a romantic mood for any room.

What’s on the horizon for romantic drapes? Hirshfield’s window treatment designer Dawn Feda recommends sheers. “Embroidered sheers are an excellent choice to add romantic ambience to a room. “ What makes sheers so fabulous is they add “softness and yet dimension” to a room. Read the rest of this entry »

Radiant Orchid decorations for Valentine’s Day.

You take this year’s Color of the Year, Radiant Orchid. Then you take this week’s holiday, Valentine’s Day. Put them together and you have the perfect excuse to add a pop of fresh color to your décor while trying out a new look in your home.

Depending on your desire for change and your home’s current style, you can add a little touch of Radiant Orchid or go for a more dramatic effect. The color is in the purple-pink family and goes well with neutrals, particularly creams, grays and taupe. Pantone also recommends combining Radiant Orchid with turquoise, teal, light yellow, and even darker greens such as olive and hunter green. Read the rest of this entry »

Valentine’s Day Inspired Rooms

Valentine’s Day is coming near, and ‘tis the season to see red, pink and white wherever you turn. Yes, it can be too much when your local gift store has overdone it. But it can be fun to decorate at home with red and pink, whether it’s a temporary use of the colors in honor of the holiday or a color scheme you enjoy year-round.

Red
Personally, I love pops of red. The main living space in my home has accent colors of claret—mostly in an area rug, comfy throw and accent pillows. Red can warm up a space and add visual interest. However, you want to be careful when incorporating intense hues, especially reds. You don’t want to go overboard and end up with a space that feels intense or angry; you want reds that add positively to the vibe of a space. Depending on the tone and hue of the red you like, that might translate into an atmosphere that is energetic and has pizzazz, feels luxurious and elegant or seems rustic and comfortable. Since Hirshfield’s has paint in thousands of colors—more than 5,000 possibilities—you can acquire a paint sample to take home and try out before you commit to a color.

Ahhh.. love is in the air. It seems like everyone is a romantic these days. With Valentine’s Day upon us, it seems flowers, chocolates and teddy bears are just as common as accent pillows and window treatments in our homes.

And while the overwhelming pink and red may get a little, shall I say, nauseating, after awhile we should not be so quick to discount romanticism as a source of design inspiration.

Romanticism refers to the complex artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe. In essence, romanticism is the complete opposite of realism. It rejects the precepts of order, calm, harmony, balance, idealization, and rationality and embraces the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental.

For interior design, romanticism means that everything can be exactly the way it was created by the artist-designer. Different rooms in the same house can be stylistically united or absolutely opposite.

Notice how the shape of the chairs is carried from the dining room to the kitchen in this house,

Hamilton Design Associates, by House of Turquoise

while this room mixes colors, fabrics and textures.

House Beautiful

Indulge in pieces you love and don’t be afraid to use luxurious fabrics or bold colors. Embrace the juxtapositions of drastically different items, like silk next to straw or modern art next to a classic chandelier. If you love it, use it!

House Beautiful

Even though romanticism is often interpreted as very feminine, some say that the Gothic aesthetic is very closely associated with romanticism. It confirms the idea that everything that is very free, high and tending to the skies is in fashion.

ArhZine

The main focus of romanticism is to really just let go of any preconceived notions of what design should be. Follow your heart and your imagination and you’ll create a design you love!